Drink cup and lid
View Patent ↗A liquid container includes a brim forming an opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup. A lid is coupled to the brim to form more than one seal with the container. The lid includes lid-removal blocker walls arranged to engage undercuts formed in the cup to retain the lid in a mounted position on the cup closing the opening into the liquid reservoir chamber.
1. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, and
wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup and a frustoconical lid retainer arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the frustoconical lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip and the closure mount ring includes a first lid-removal blocker wall located between the first and second seal ring and arranged to engage the frustoconical lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, and
wherein the closure mount ring further includes a lid-removal flange located below the fourth seal ring and arranged to extend downwardly in an inner direction opposite to the outer direction.
2. The liquid container of claim 1 wherein the closure mount ring further includes a second lid-removal blocker wall located between the fourth seal ring and the lid-removal flange and arranged to engage a terminal end of the brim during movement of the lid in the outer direction to block removal of the lid from the cup.
3. The liquid container of claim 1 wherein the lid-removal flange includes, in series, first, second, third, and fourth annular segments, the first annular segment is arranged to surround the first seal ring, and the third and fourth annular segments have frustoconical shapes.
4. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, and
wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter, and
wherein the fourth seal ring is aligned in concentric relation with the second seal ring and has a third diameter that is greater than the first and second diameters and the closure mount ring further includes a frustoconical wall interconnecting the first and second seal rings.
5. The liquid container of claim 4 wherein each of the second and fourth seal rings is oriented to extend in a generally vertical direction and the third seal ring is oriented to extend in a generally horizontal direction.
6. The liquid container of claim 5 wherein the closure mount ring further includes an annular quarter round-shaped inner rim interconnecting the second and third seal rings.
7. The liquid container of claim 5 wherein the closure mount ring further includes an annular quarter round-shaped outer rim interconnecting the third and fourth seal rings.
8. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, wherein the closure mount ring includes a first annular segment arranged to surround the first seal ring to define an annular channel therebetween, the second, third, and fourth seal rings cooperate to define an annular chamber communicating with the annular channel and receiving the brim therein, and an upper portion of the side wall of the cup extends through the annular channel when the brim is located in the annular chamber,
wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter.
9. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, wherein the closure mount ring includes a first annular segment arranged to surround the first seal ring to define an annular channel therebetween, the second, third, and fourth seal rings cooperate to define an annular chamber communicating with the annular channel and receiving the brim therein, and an upper portion of the side wall of the cup extends through the annular channel when the brim is located in the annular chamber,
wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup and a frustoconical lid retainer arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the frustoconical lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip and the closure mount ring includes a first lid-removal blocker wall located between the first and second seal ring and arranged to engage the frustoconical lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup.
10. The liquid container of claim 4 wherein the closure includes a hub formed to include a straw receiver, radially extending spoke ribs having an outer end terminating at the closure mount ring and an inner end terminating at the hub, and
an inclined plate extending between each pair of adjacent radially extending spoke ribs and between the closure mount ring and the hub.
11. The liquid container of claim 10 wherein a first of the inclined plates has a first slope with respect to a horizontal reference plane before the closure mount ring of the lid is mounted on the brim of the cup and a steeper second slope with respect to the horizontal reference plane upon coupling of the closure mount ring on the brim.
12. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface and a radially inwardly projecting, axially outwardly extending lid retainer located above the first annular seal surface and below the second annular seal surface, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a first lid-removal blocker wall located between the first and second seal rings and arranged to engage the lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, and
wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup and configured to include the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, the lid retainer has a frustoconical shape and is arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip, and the fourth sealing is aligned in concentric relation with the second seal ring.
13. The liquid container of claim 12 wherein the first lid-removal blocker wall has a frustoconical shape.
14. The liquid container of claim 12 wherein the first lid-removal blocker wall interconnects the first and second seal rings.
15. The liquid container of claim 14 wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter.
16. The liquid container of claim 12 wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter.
17. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a first annular seal surface, the brim including a second annular seal surface, a third annular seal surface, and a fourth annular seal surface, each of the first, second, and fourth annular seal surfaces extending in a generally vertical direction, and the third annular seal surface extending in a generally horizontal direction, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount including a first seal ring arranged to engage the first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, and
wherein the closure mount further includes a first lid-removal blocker wall arranged to interconnect the first and second seal rings and to engage an undercut formed in the cup during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, and
wherein the brim further includes a lid-removal flange, the lid-removal flange includes, in series, first, second, third, and fourth annular segments, the first annular segment is arranged to surround the first seal ring, and the third and fourth annular segments have frustoconical shapes, and wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter.
18. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a first annular seal surface, the brim including a second annular seal surface, a third annular seal surface, and a fourth annular seal surface, each of the first, second, and fourth annular seal surfaces extending in a generally vertical direction, and the third annular seal surface extending in a generally horizontal direction, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount including a first seal ring arranged to engage the first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, and
wherein the first seal ring has a first diameter and the second seal ring has a second diameter that is lesser than the first diameter, and
wherein the fourth seal ring is aligned in concentric relation with the second seal ring and has a third diameter that is greater than the first and second diameters.
19. The liquid container of claim 17 wherein the closure mount further includes an annular quarter round-shaped inner rim interconnecting the second and third seal rings.
20. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the brim including a vertical annular seal surface, a horizontal annular seal surface, a first lid retainer extending into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and a second lid retainer lying outside the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup and in spaced-apart relation to the first lid retainer to locate the vertical and horizontal annular seal surfaces therebetween, the brim providing a radially outwardly turned lip terminating at the second lid retainer and lying outside of the liquid reservoir chamber, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount engaging at least the vertical annular seal surface of the brim to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween, the closure mount including a first lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the first lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, the closure mount also including a second lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the second lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup.
21. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the lid further includes a lid-removal flange coupled to the second lid-removal blocker wall and arranged to extend downwardly away from the second lid-removal blocker wall to terminate at a point below the brim.
22. The liquid container of claim 21 wherein the lid-removal flange is arranged to lie outside of the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup.
23. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the lid further includes a lid-removal flange arranged to lie outside of the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup when the closure mount is coupled to the brim.
24. The liquid container of claim 23 wherein the lid-removal flange is arranged to lie below the second lid retainer when the closure mount is coupled to the brim.
25. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein each of the first and second lid-removal blocker walls has a frustoconical shape.
26. The liquid container of claim 25 wherein the first lid-removal blocker wall is configured to diverge in a direction toward the floor of the cup and the second lid-removal blocker wall is configured to converge in a direction toward the floor of the cup.
27. The liquid container of claim 26 wherein the first lid retainer is a frustoconical segment and is arranged to lie above and in confronting relation to the first lid-removal blocker wall when the closure mount is coupled to the brim.
28. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup, the first lid retainer has a frustoconical shape and is arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the first lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip.
29. The liquid container of claim 28 wherein the first lid-removal blocker wall has a frustoconical shape.
30. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the brim including a first lid retainer extending into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and a second lid retainer lying outside the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and
a lid including a closure and a closure mount appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount engaging at least the vertical annular seal surface of the brim to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween, the closure mount including a first lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the first lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, the closure mount also including a second lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the second lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup,
wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup, the first lid retainer has a frustoconical shape and is arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the first lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip, and
wherein the side wall includes a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface having a first diameter, the inner annular strip of the brim includes a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface having a second diameter that is less than the first diameter, the first lid retainer is located above the first annular seal surface and below the second annular seal surface, the closure mount includes a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface and a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, and the first lid removal blocker wall is located between the first and second seal rings.
31. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the side wall includes a first annular seal surface, the closure mount includes a first seal ring arranged to engage the first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween.
32. The liquid container of claim 31 wherein the brim further includes an annular seal surface and the closure mount includes another seal ring arranged to engage the annular seal surface of the brim to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
33. The liquid container of claim 31 wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly and axially upwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly and axially upwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
34. The liquid container of claim 31 wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly and outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly and outwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
35. The liquid container of claim 31 wherein the brim further includes axially upwardly and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the axially upwardly and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
36. The liquid container of claim 31 wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly, axially upwardly, and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly, axially upwardly, and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces.
37. The liquid container of claim 20 , wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly and axially upwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly and axially upwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
38. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly and outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly and outwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
39. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the brim further includes axially upwardly and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the axially upwardly and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween.
40. The liquid container of claim 20 wherein the brim further includes radially inwardly, axially upwardly, and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces and the closure mount includes a separate seal ring arranged to engage each of the radially inwardly, axially upwardly, and radially outwardly facing seal surfaces.
41. A liquid container comprising
a cup including a brim having an inverted U-shaped cross-sectional shape, a floor, a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, a first lid retainer extending into the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and a second lid retainer lying outside the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and
a lid coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a first position closing the mouth opening into the liquid reservoir chamber whereby first, second and third lid seals are formed in the first position to block unwanted discharge of liquid from the liquid reservoir chamber, the first and third seals being formed by opposing generally vertically extending cup and lid surfaces, the second seal being formed by opposing generally horizontally extending cup and lid surfaces, a first lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the first lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, a second lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the second lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup,
whereby movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup from the first position to a second position separates the opposing generally horizontally extending cup and lid second seal surfaces and engages at least one of the first lid-removal blocker with the first lid retainer and the second lid-removal blocker wall with the second lid retainer to block removal of the lid from the cup.